One of the many things we love about Barkbox? The company devotes itself to helping at-risk pets through a generous philanthropic program using some of their sales proceeds. We can’t help but share this inspirational video that demonstrates the heart behind Barkbox. See what they did to celebrate one dog’s incredible journey back from a life of terrible abuse.

My Lab/whippet mixed pup Nora (45 pounds, 8 years) rarely cares for any kind of traditional dog toy. She’s intimidated by toys that squeak, and toys that hit the floor with a loud thud. She doesn’t play fetch unless other dogs are around. However, she does take to treats meant for chewing. After trying bully sticks (hurt her gums), antlers (made a terrible sound against her teeth), and others, I came across the Himalayan Dog Chew: a softer chew made from yak and cow milk. It’s still tough enough that it lasts her a few days of on and off chewing but soft enough that I’m not worried it’ll hurt her mouth. Once the chew reaches the last nubbin—which you don’t want your dog to swallow whole—you can briefly pop it into the microwave to soften it into a cheesy treat.
The boxes are themed around the relevant holidays and the packaging itself is made to look like a gift with a bow and to/from tag on the design so it is a nice option for those looking to give as a present to other pups. The box we tested (prior to The Gift Box owning it) had two types of treats (that were both American made) two toys and a scented candle for masking pet smells.
Giving your dog a new toy is an exercise in natural selection. No matter how cute or pricey it is, there’s some chance that your pup will ignore the new plaything or rapidly tear it to shreds, either way leaving it for dead. Here we present the survivors: the toys that our pups have verified to be good for hours, or even years, of play that’s engaging, ferocious, and cute.
Based out of New York, New York, BarkBox is a subscription-based online service where members receive monthly surprises for their dogs, consisting of all-natural treats, hygiene products, and toys. The service is for dogs of all sizes, including puppies, medium-sized adults, or even large breeds such as Great Danes. As such, BarkBox carefully crafts each of your monthly boxes to your specific dog’s size—and because you never know what you’re going to get, each of the 4-6 items you receive will always be a surprise.
Here’s a breakdown of what to expect: -Love your dog but don’t need a BIG box of stuff every month? This is for you!Treat your pup for $9.99/mo delivered! -Receive at LEAST 1 bag of treats (all made in USA or Canada) and one toy – The retail value is always worth more than $10 AND we ship it free! No dealing with traffic going to the store and no more paying insane pet store pricing! -Access to secret deals and add-ons! Most important? Have something special for your pup every month like clockwork! -Shipping schedule: All boxes ship between the 20th and 25th of the month. No hassle cancellations, but you won’t want to. Your dog will be too excited each month
By focusing on a specific task —such as repeatedly returning a ball, Kong, or Frisbee® or playing "hide-and-seek" with treats or toys — your dog can expend pent-up mental and physical energy from boredom in a limited amount of time and space. For young, high-energy and untrained dogs, interactive play also offers an opportunity for socialization and helps them learn about appropriate and inappropriate behavior, such as jumping up or being mouthy.
Thinking that maybe I needed to communicate dog to dog, I had my 4 Goldens and 1 Pyr (all rescues) send a personal plea to please get the box right, because their mom was threatening to cancel their subscription and buy their toys in other places. Again, received a cute email response (not nearly as cute as the email my 5 sent) basically saying we were wrong (really? It takes a month to ship something in the United States? And I have a transcript of the previous chat that specified what my BarkBox was supposed to contain, which it did not?!?)...and promises to make things better. THEN, literally 3 days later, another email was received about the glitch in their distribution center and OH - replacement items are now out of stock!

I think for the price, its worth it, especially since it costs equal if not less than going to the petstore and buying 5 items (two toys, two treats, one chew). Its delivered to your door and I feel like your pup would be more than excited upon getting it. The themes are cute and change every month which is great. You also get a little cake treat when it is around your dogs birthday which is also cute. You have the option and ability to add more products to your boxes every month too however it comes at an extra fee so keep that in mind if you want to splurge.

Running a business that depends on timely deliveries doesn’t come without its challenges, and BarkBox has to maintain a delicate and complex balance of product warehousing, logistics planning, and customer care. “With the word ‘box’ in our name, you can imagine that managing deliveries is central to our business,” says Rob Snowden, BarkBox’s Director of Fulfillment.
For example, let’s suppose that simple “how to” customer queries account for a large portion of your support interactions. These features allow you to handle these “high-touch low-value” queries efficiently by leveraging on automation (i.e. bots) to create predictable workflows. Through Zendesk Message, you can then define key scenarios when a query becomes too complex for a bot to handle, to trigger a “hand off” to a trained human agent to resolve. This automation and bot-to-human handover system frees your agents to solve the toughest customer problems and offer actionable support.